Where Are The Photo Cards?

I am surprised by the number of emails I have received asking when I was going to post more of the photo cards I was making. I have to be honest with you and say that the wind had been taken out of my sails when I had received the negative emails about them and it took some time through the grace of God to get myself back into making them.

I am in the process of creating another four cards and they should be posted by Friday if not sooner. Thank you to all who have left warming and compassionate comments, the emails I have received and even phone calls reassuring me to continue in making them.

I will be making some normal cards using stamped images as well, but will mostly be concentrating on more of the photo cards.

Keep your eyes open for my next post and please continue to visit my blog and leave comments or suggestions. Again thank you for being so sweet and caring. It means the world to me. :)

Notecards

Trying to get my mojo back after the hurtful emails. Thought I would make a set of notecards to just get myself back into the "STAMPING" mode. I made these as a gift for a dear sweet friend which is way over due. Think I could of maybe done better, but as I say the mojo just isn't back yet. Boy, white is so hard to photograph even with the manual settings on the camera. There are miniature olive colored rhinestones (from Taylored Expressions) on the upper swirl pattern on the card which is really hard to see. The scrolls stamps are by MS, lettering stamps are by Technique Tuesday and I used SU Taken with Teal CS, Ink and then accented with Wild Wasabi. Added the scroll design to the corners of the envelope as well to give it a little extra pizzaz.

Why Are People Hurtful?

I have nothing to post today, but I am having the need to vent. I have received some not so nice emails sent to me in regards to my latest postings of the cards that I have made and as I sit here and ask the Lord why, I am calming myself in prayer and feeling the comfort of His arms around me assuring me to let it go and to just pray for them as maybe they aren't of the Christian Faith or are struggling within their own faith. God is so Awesome!

It all has to do with statements saying "how can you post these when there is no stamping involved?" Or these are just pictures there isn't any talent here... Excuse Me? I have chosen to use the pictures on my cards as a different way to express the talent that my DH has and was given to him by the Lord himself and to show a different take on making cards. I agree that there needs to be sentiments to go with them, but that doesn't mean they are any less nice or artistic just because an image wasn't stamped, colored and fixated to the card. I believe I have used various mediums in making these cards and have received numerous complimenting comments from my sister stampers, neighbors, family and friends. And to be really honest here, with the way the economy is right now and having my hours cut, it means that I have had to really tighten my budget and I have chosen to use what I already have in my craft room and sort through disks upon disks of pictures. You know the Lord says we are to be good stewards of our finances and all that he gives us in everything. I am sorry for having to vent, but sometimes you just need to get it off your chest. You know what I mean? Thanks for listening.

You Caught Me Praying...

Hope your alls Easter was full of sunshine and the presence of our sweet Lord! We were out in the backyard , checking on our garden and DH happen to look up and saw something move. He instructed me to go and grab the camera and hurry! I came back out and he started snapping

away at what I thought was just a branch from the Kumquat Tree. Little did I know what he was taking a picture of until I uploaded the pictures. Here was one of God's small creatures looking right at DH as to say "You Caught Me Praying". The sentiment I selected couldn't have been more perfect as I think it reflects that all the friendships we have, we should always be thankful for each and everyone of them. I hope that you are thankful for all the friends and family that the Lord has blessed your life with and be sure to tell them how much you treasure their friendship and the love you have for them.

HAPPY EASTER

Wishing everyone a Blessed Happy Easter. May the Lord shine down upon you today as we celebrate His resurrection!

A Fairytale....

I know this post will be long, but in order to understand the photograph on the card, you have to know the whole story behind it. This card is very special to both my DH and I as this was the very last wedding we were able to shoot before the car accident in 2006. If there ever was a wedding that was a joy to photograph and make memories for a couple it would be this one. Mind you we have photographed over 100 weddings in the 4 years time we had the photo studio, but there is always one that just touches your heart and leaves an impression deep within your soul. This couple was the sweetest, most considerate and loving couple we had ever met in our business years. He treated her like she was the Queen of all and they were so in love (do you hear the birds singing?). She is Peruvian and he is Guatemalan. Both sets of their parents were not able to be here while all the planning took place. In that respect they asked us to keep a photography journal for them to share with their families when they arrived for the wedding celebration. We were with them when fittings were taking place, and the dresses being selected for the attendants, tuxes for the groomsmen, flowers being selected, menu selected, linens for the reception, and the bridal showers and so on and so on. Never did my DH and I ever think we would be so involved in preparation of this wonderful event that was to take place with such a wonderful couple who was getting married. This photograph that you are seeing was the day her dress had it's final fitting. She insisted that DH be there to photograph her and she had a special favor to ask him and would tell him when he arrived. He arrived at the bridal salon and there she stood in all her beauty, but what was missing was her veil and the headpiece and that was done on purpose. It was a family tradition in her family for the father of the bride to select the veil and headpiece for the bride to wear on her wedding day. With her father in Peru, she felt that my DH would be perfect to step in and take her daddy's place and she would then have him take a picture and send to her father for his final approval of the selection my husband had picked. Of course the veil and headpiece DH selected was given a winning approval by her father. During the time she was looking at the tiara's before a selection was made by my DH, he was able to shoot through the double pane glass case and catch her looking at the various tiara's without her knowing he was photographing her. I am sure you are wondering how many pictures were taken leading up to their nuptials for this wedding journal..we had taken close to 3500 and then took additional 1500 for the wedding and reception itself. So all in all it was around 5000 give or take. It took them quite awhile to select their main photographs for their album, but in the end, it was beautiful and they had the original 3500 for memories in the years to come. To end the story they are now living in Peru.

Bloom

Can you guess where this picture was taken? If you know my DH and I, then you would know it was taken at our favorite place to always go and spend time and act like a kid about 40 times throughout the year (not kidding on how much we go) it is Disneyland!!!! They have the most beautiful flowers in all varieties and landscapes throughout the their parks and around the hotels not to mention Downtown Disney. DH and I are premium pass holders which allows you to go 365 days a year with no restrictions. We were over in frontier land when we spotted these beautiful blooms. The yellows and reds are so vibrant in color and you just couldn't help but be cheerful because of the colors. Don't they just scream "SPRING"? We actually had this picture (a much larger size of course) up in our home when we first moved into the new house 4 years ago. I had done the guest bathroom in reds and yellows and it definitely was bright since there was a skylight in there as well. It has since been taken down and placed in our portfolio. Hope this card made you smile today!

Bee Happy

Well another work week is behind me and I am so glad it is the weekend!!!!!! The economy has finally hit home (literally) as my hours have been cut at work, but I am trying to stay optimistic and know that the Lord has it all under control of what is to be. So with that being said... I have another card or two to share with you again. It is another one of the mixture of photos taken by my husband with stamped sentiments. I had fun putting this card together as I happen to have the correct solid color of paper (PTI) and designer paper to match the coral colors in this beautiful flower to work with. Then I remembered that I had the PTI Dotted Ribbon! LOL!!! This photo was taken about 6 years ago in our backyard and this is when we knew we really needed to consider opening up a photography studio. This wasp was busy collecting the pollen from these beautiful gladiola's and didn't even pay attention to DH taking his picture. Which is probably good since he is highly allergic to bees of any kind. LOL!!! I had to use the sentiment from PTI "Honey Bees" to give it the optimism we need in today's economy. As I was making this card I kept thinking of the song "Don't Worry Be Happy". I can't tell you whom it is sung by, but it was when I was in my twenties, so let's just say I have just aged myself. LOL!!! Hope you enjoy!